well, the day finally arrived after amassing parts- road demon jr 525cfm carb, rb intake manifold, rb headers, numerous little odds n ends, and it wont crank...its got fuel, its got spark, its got a freshly charged battery, but the dinosaur blood coarsed, the spark sparked, and the motor turned, but nothing ever happened...only the thump thump thump of the little engine that could have been and once was...but yea so any ideas...whats my compression supposed to be at? the haynes said the limit is 85psi.. is that the lowest, i know im at 9.4:1 factory but am i supposed to be in the 140 range?

compression test came back with... ...40 on 1 and 80 on 2....

 

anyone? does this mean my apex seals are bad? is a rebuild in order??

 

try soaking the internals with the atf trick ya apex seals could be sticking or the apex springs are buggerd what did you use for compression testing and did you remove the shutter valve

 

if you're sure you got 3 good puffs on each side, then put a little oil down the throat of the carb so help with sealing.

Also *IF* you want to soak the seals i would suggest using Amsoil Powerfoam for the carbon instead of ATF.

 

I thought we were supposed to run the SeaFoam first, various oils second, and if neither of those work, follow with ATF in worst case scenario?

My car hasn't started (not tried) in probably 3 or 4 years. I can turn the engine with a socket smoothly but it has always (12+ years) been hard enough to not turn by hand. I planned on simply changing spark plugs, battery, wires, oil, fuel, fuel filter, oil filter, radiator coolant, and cranking that bad boy. Think I will Fug up the seals? I've turned the engine a few times with the socket which I assume lubes the seals a bit, but seriously, should I be placing Seafoam or other goodies just for the sake of it having sat for years? The car has never had starting problems. Doesn't seem like it would be necessary. I know, I know, the faqs says one thing, but I just aint sure it applies to me. Wouldn't my engine NOT turn with the socket if the seals were stuck? At any rate, I will be sure to share my success or catastrophic failure!

 

Use mmo, pour it down the carb or through a spark plug hole, rotate engine (by hand) and let sit for a few hours, rotate again (by hand) and then clean the plugs the next day, rotate with the plugs out to celar the oil, put the plugs in and fire it up. It'll smoke like a bith so be ready for a quick 3-5 mile highway run right away when if fires to clear the oil. Worked great for me.

 

ha no deal on the highway run...no tags, not registered, no exhaust....how bout just revvin the **** out of it for a while? ha...all assuming this puppy cranks after that...i just used a normal compression tester- like 20 bones at autozone, then yea read 40 in the first and 80 in the second, what am i supposed to be reading? higher than that obviously...

 

should be about 90+ on both. Do the mmo trick and smoke out the neighbors then....

 

I had a flooded SE that wouldn't fire and it showed about 70, did the mmo and she fired up.

 

excellent, cant wait to try it...its not at the house at the moment, but when it does get here....but just outta curiosity if anyone does see this whos going to drift atlanta this weekend??

 

If the seals are stuck, and if the oil trick does not unstick them and bring compression back up enough to start it,

then try tow starting it. Tow it with another vehicle, try 2nd or 3rd gear in your RX-7, tow it fast enough to get it spinning at 2500 to 3000 rpm, and the centrifugal force will usually sling the stuck apex seals out against the housing walls and make them seal again and it will start.

 

I think there should be just even compression numbers. If it's not a rotary engine compression tester, are you using it like in the FAQ?
I've read only good numbers will come up on a warm engine.

 

Did this motor run prior to the carb change?

 

j tso...yea...thats my own misguided mistake, i didnt read up/think logically on that one, i used a piston motor compression tester, which does change things a bit but even still that means the highest im getting out of the three is 40/80.

speedturn...getting ready to try the oil trick and if that doesnt work, ill opt for the momentum catch trick...btw are you suggesting a pop start? or just getting the motor spinning up to 2500-3000 rpms? either way how much marvel/oil should i put in the spark plug holes?

latin270...yes it did run (or so i was told from the ex inmate i bought it from- if that says anything...) but it did sit for somewhere between 4months and a year...so yea...

 

rock n roll guys...after the mmo, letting it sit for a couple hours...then the pop start, which didnt catch, sat there a minute feeling pretty exacerbated...then just tried turning the key again and with a snap crackle pop(and the giant cloud of smoke from the mmo) it started! so thanks heaps....!

 

Another rotary back on the road !

 

yay!!now for all the wiring....haha nothing on my dash works...so feat number two is about to ensue!